L.A. homicide detective Sgt. Lawrence Case is working what is probably his last murder investigation when he realizes it might be what nobody needs: another serial killer. If that turns out to be the case, it's probably one of the strangest investigations he ever worked. Assigned a new partner he doesn't want and to a police force that doesn't want him, Case risks his life for the one thing left in the world important to him: his job. This is the debut novel by a new author, Larry C. Rothman, who now resides in Vancouver, Wa., having grown up in the L.A. area.